The Adventures of Lorie and Brian Groth

Exciting topic, right? This little series is about everyday things in Amsterdam. Thankfully, it is really easy to figure out, since the words for recycling items are almost the same as English. The only really weird thing is the lack of recycling aluminum or any type of metal; cans just go in the garbage bin. I think each neighborhood chooses their own style of receptacles and notice that most of these go into the ground so a truck with a crane has to come and lift it out of the ground.

We are still waiting to do this one, but it’s certainly on our list. There are a variety of options and sizes to rent, but the small tin ones seem most prevalent.

Often, bikes are blocking the signs that say “don’t park your bike here”, so I’m not sure how serious they are all the time. But some never have bikes in front of them. Notice there are also signs for parking certain types of bikes.

I choose to walk or take the tram to work, although there are quite a few who bike, because it’s just the normal Dutch way to get around the city. There is certainly a rush hour for bikes, but thankfully there are dedicated bike lanes.

“Whatever works” is the general idea. I especially like the buddy system of locking two bikes together; what if your friend wants to use his bike? And the bike with a lock on it but not attached can easily get thrown into the back of a truck, which does happen. But, you can use a post, bench, railing, tree, or even a bike rack to lock your bike up.

Generally, a bike gets parked anywhere and everywhere. Picture here is an underground parking garage, the bike parking at he Amsterdam Centraal (the main train station) and the normal bike rack.

There are a variety of options of things to do in Amsterdam, and most seem to have a poster advertising it.

OK, last car topic. But, when you do drive in Amsterdam you have to park somewhere, unless of course you are just blocking traffic temporarily. Thankfully, there are many blue signs and places to pay. At least it looks that way until you are in a car and there are no free spots! Notice how easy it can be to accidently park in a canal.

A practical car in Amsterdam is one that you can drive down a sidewalk, bike path, and park anywhere. I have no idea if any of that is legal though.